Apple Airport Extreme Wireless Base Station - M8930LL/A (MAC/PC)

by Apple

Product Details

Product Manual [79kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 6.9 x 3.1 inches ; 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• ASIN: B0000899ZC
• Item model number: M8930LL/A
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 18, 2006

Product Description

Apple Airport Extreme Round Wireless Base Station - M8930LL/A. 802.11B/G protocol For MAC or PC.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a cute little guy, May 13, 2003

By 

NutMac "NutMac" (Mountain View, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Apple Airport Extreme Wireless Base Station - M8930LL/A (MAC/PC) (Personal Computers)

I've been using Linksys BEFW11S4 802.11b router for few years now. Other than somewhat short range, it has never let me down. After looking at cheaper alternatives, I bought the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) as my second WiFi router.

Pros:
- Looks really really really cute... and small, too
- Better signal strength than Linksys BEFW11S4
- Innovative USB printer support
- Superb AirPort Admin Utility and tight Mac OS X integration
- Bridging with other WiFi station via WDS (for expanding the range)
- Wall mountable (comes with wall mounting kit)
- AOL and RADIUS server support

Cons:
- Susceptible to signal loss (i.e., when using the microwave oven)
- Pricier than most 802.11g router
- No web-based configuration interface
- Only 1 LAN port

When you run the AirPort Admin Utility for the first time, it might detect an older firmware and proceed to upgrade itself automatically (if you let it, of course). The new firmware (5.0.4 as I write this) fixes WiFi connection drop issue. For some strange reason, the problem persisted until I manually downloaded and uploaded the latest firmware. I've tinkered with the channel selection to get the optimum results. Running the microwave oven may cause WiFi connection to drop still, however.

The AirPort Admin Utility is a pleasure to use, which is also full of features. Among the options are choosing among 11 WiFi channels; operating in 802.11b, 802.11g or mix mode; setting the transmission power from 10 to 100%; setting up Internet via DHCP, static IP, PPPoE, or AOL DSL; and mapping ports. You can improve security via 40-bit or 128-bit WEP, create a closed network by hiding SID (Station ID), and add access control (MAC address filtering).

By the way, if you are running Windows, go to Apple's web site and download the AirPort Admin Utility for Windows. It does not specify AEBS, but trust me... it works.

Oh, did I mention how beautiful AEBS is? I tucked my ugly Linksys where no one can see (which probably hinders WiFi broadcast), but not so with AEBS. Located on the front are beautiful metallic Apple logo and three graphite status indicators (WiFi, power, and Ethernet). Located on the rear are reset button, 100/10BASE-T WAN port, 100/10BASE-T LAN port, USB printer port, and AC power adapter port (very long power cable is included). If you need more than one LAN port, you will need to mate AEBS with an Ethernet hub.

The signal level's stronger than Linksys BEFW11S4. I get full signal virtually everywhere in my apartment, including those where Linksys frequently gave up. If you need greater range (larger house), consider bridging ABES with another ABES via built-in WDS support (Wireless Distribution System) or purchase ABES with Modem and Antenna Port (and one of few external ABES antennas available).

Finally, I must mention its built-in USB printer port. Hookup one of many supported printers via USB and you will be able to print wirelessly via Mac OS X's Rendezvous feature. Neat!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Share broadband between Mac & PC, June 22, 2003

By 

Roland Reinhart "Roland" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Apple Airport Extreme Wireless Base Station - M8930LL/A (MAC/PC) (Personal Computers)

It hurt to pay so much, but I had the feeling that getting the Airport Extreme Base Station would save me time and headaches when trying to share broadband between a PC and Mac.

I was successful with this platform/OS/equipment combination:
Apple M8930LL/A Airport Extreme Base Station
Mac: OS 10.1.5, Apple Airport Card
PC: Win2000 Pro, NetGear MA101 Wireless USB Adapter

Plugged an ISP-provided DSL modem into the Base Station and configured the Base Station using the Mac. (Had no success with Apple's Airport Admin config software for the PC.)

Then plugged in the NetGear MA101 on the PC, installed the software from CD, and configured the settings to match the Mac security.

I got strong signal strength and throughput from both the NetGear MA101 and the Airport Card in a three story house.
40-bit WEP works fine. 128-bit is occasionally a little buggy on the PC, requiring me to temporarily reset both platforms to 40-bit.

Haven't tried setting up file sharing yet, but will attempt the USB printer connection on the Base Station. (Caution, check Apple.com/airport for list if approved USB printers that will work with the Base Station. Also, this USB printer feature supposedly requires the Mac to run OS 10.2.3+)

I wish the Airport Base Station manual had more scenario details and suggestions how to tailor your WAN configuration. I spent a lot of time searching the Apple BBS regarding questions I think should have been covered in the manual.

Overall, the Airport Extreme Base Station is a thing of beauty to look at, relatively easy to configure -- but I'm scared to death of someone knocking it to the floor.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now fully complaint with 802.11g final spec, June 20, 2003

By 

NutMac "NutMac" (Mountain View, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Apple Airport Extreme Wireless Base Station - M8930LL/A (MAC/PC) (Personal Computers)

Merely a week after the 802.11g specification is finalized, Apple released a free firmware upgrade that brings Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS) up to compliance (downloadable from Apple's web site). In addition to fully complying with 802.11g and 802.11b standards, the upgrade also improves performance with both wired (10/100BASE-T Ethernet) and wireless (802.11b and 802.11g) clients.

If you are using Mac OS X 10.2 or higher, you can upgrade the AirPort Admin Utility to gain additional benefits:
- New automatic channel selection option. If set, AEBS will automatically select the optimal WiFi channel when it restarts.
- New 'Enable interference robustness' option under 'More...' dialog box. If enabled, AEBS will better interoperate with wireless telephones, microwave ovens, etc.
- Wireless Distributed System (WDS) is now easier to setup.
- Control over DHCP range.

Yes, AEBS is better than ever. While AEBS remains among the most expensive 802.11g WiFi routers on the market, it sets itself apart with compelling strengths:
- It is the easiest to setup under Mac OS X by far, thanks to elegant AirPort Admin Utility.
- USB printer port for sharing printers and printing wirelessly!
- Excellent cosmetics... it's soooooo pretty!
- WDS lets you expand WiFi range with additional AEBS or other WDS-compliant WiFi access points (most WiFi routers lack WDS).
- Timely firmware updates from Apple. Bring on the 802.11i WLAN security!